Council Strategy 2024 – 2028
Working for A Mole Valley which is Fairer, Greener and provides Opportunity for all.
Fairer
Supporting individuals and communities to lead safe, healthy and fulfilling lives.
- Improve the delivery of affordable and social housing to meet local need
- Focus on young people, the vulnerable and those most in need when planning and delivering services
- Promote health and wellbeing through enabling the provision of sports, leisure and cultural activities and encouraging responsible enjoyment of our parks, open spaces, heritage and countryside
- Work to end rough sleeping and prevent homelessness, ensuring that those who need help can access appropriate support and advice
- Tackle anti-social behaviour by working with partners to promote pride in place and effective enforcement
- Represent the concerns of Mole Valley residents and businesses with partners, central government and other agencies
| 2026/27 Annual Plan Objective | Cabinet Portfolio |
Promote and deliver Disabled Facilities Grants with the increased grant aid limit at £30,000. These grants go towards funding the cost of adaptations and/or facilities in people’s homes | Waste, Recycling, Environmental Health |
Support people to access and take up the benefits they are potentially entitled to by exploring the implementation of a low income family tracker (LIFT). | Finance |
Work with SCC and Community Groups to ensure that there continues to be a community facility on the site of the Bridge Youth Centre (Kingston Road Recreation Ground) in Leatherhead | Commercial Assets and Projects |
In consultation with Members and the local community, progress the design and installation of new and refurbished playgrounds in Ashtead, Bookham, Dorking and Leatherhead | Leisure and Community Assets |
Enable young people to access and take part in a range of activities that they might not ordinarily be able to afford by continuing to run a programme of school summer holiday activities, and pilot the second year of a three year bursary scheme to widen access to sports club membership in Mole Valley. | Leisure and Community Assets |
Seek to increase the number of small and medium enterprises investing and engaging in community projects via the Mole Valley Community Fund (MVCF) by establishing a funding policy that supports the businesses’ contributions, enabling them to further their environmental, social and governance objectives. | Sustainable Economy |
Continue to work in partnership with the police to support them in tackling anti-social riding and driving in the District. | Services and Security |
Implement actions in the Affordable Housing Strategy. This will include pursuing affordable rents across all tenures. | Services and Security |
Spend money (from Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 agreements) to fund relevant Council Priorities, including affordable housing and the infrastructure communities need.*
| Services and Security /Planning and Infrastructure |
| 2026/27 Cabinet Performance Indicator | Target 2026/27 |
| Number of rough sleepers in the district on a given date | N/A* |
| Number of households in bed and breakfast accommodation and nightly stay accommodation | N/A* |
| Number of households on the Housing Register | N/A* |
| Number of households in emergency accommodation | N/A* |
| Average number of affordable homes completed per year (over a five year rolling period) | 72 |
| Percentage of incidents resolved by the Wellbeing and Community Responder Service without escalation to the Ambulance Service | N/A* |
| Average response time for the Wellbeing and Community Responder Service arrival on scene | 60 minutes |
| Number of people who have received aids or adaptations to their homes via the disabled facility grant scheme | N/A* |
| Percentage of approved disabled facility grant applications where the adaptation has been completed within timeframes | 80.0% |
| Percentage of playground equipment out of use | 2% |
| *it is not appropriate to set a target for these performance indicators; they are monitored as ‘Information’ performance indicators |
Greener
Striving to become carbon neutral and maximising opportunities to ensure Mole Valley remains a highly attractive area.
- Protect and enhance the natural and built environment, and ensure our areas of natural beauty and wildlife are well looked after
- Support recycling, waste reduction and measures to improve sustainability
- Promote the development of sustainable infrastructure, with a particular focus on active travel
- Build pride in Mole Valley by focusing on things such as: keeping streets clean and litter free, promoting responsible dog ownership, being tough on flytipping and supporting community volunteering
- Work towards becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030 while using our role as place leader to influence carbon reduction across Mole Valley
- Influence partner agencies to prevent and lessen the impact of environmental issues, focusing our efforts on water quality, air quality and flooding
| 2026/27 Annual Plan Objective | Cabinet Portfolio |
Continue to implement our biodiversity action plan across our Parks and Open Spaces, including restoration of historic parkland at Ashtead Park, pond creation at Inholms Lane Claypit and bracken management using Suffolk Punch horses at the Nower and Milton Heath. | Climate |
| Implement the plan to progress decarbonisation works to Dorking Halls. | Climate / Commercial Assets and Projects |
Explore opportunities to develop and implement further Solar Car Ports on council owned car parks | Climate / Commercial Assets and Projects |
Continue to implement the council’s climate action plan by retrofitting emergency housing accommodation with energy efficient measures. | Climate |
Undertake an options appraisal for the Material Recycling Facility | Waste, Recycling, Environmental Health / Commercial Assets and Projects |
Undertake works to the depot in advance of the new contract going live | Waste, Recycling, Environmental Health |
Recommend award of contract, and commence mobilisation of the waste and street cleaning contract | Waste, Recycling, Environmental Health |
| 2026/27 Cabinet Performance Indicator | Target 2026/27 |
| Percentage of waste sent for recycling, reuse and composting | 57% |
| Household waste and recycling per person | 375 kg |
| Number of missed bins per 100,000 collections | 80 |
| Percentage of streets with acceptable levels of litter | 96% |
| Percentage of streets with acceptable levels of detritus | 92% |
| Reduction in the Council’s Carbon footprint | 1,070 tonnes |
Opportunity
Enabling a prosperous local economy with thriving towns and villages.
- Facilitate sustainable development that takes into account social, economic and environmental factors, including protection of the Green Belt
- Support new and existing businesses to thrive and achieve their growth aspirations
- Lead the transformation of Leatherhead town centre and drive the implementation of Opportunity Dorking, while supporting initiatives that bolster other high streets, local businesses and rural areas
- Promote opportunities for local people to develop their skills in order to access suitable employment
| 2026/27 Annual Plan Objective | Cabinet Portfolio |
Work with key stakeholders across Surrey, including the relevant shadow authorities, on the preparatory work for a Spatial Development Strategy to deliver growth, housing, economic and transport needs. | Planning and Infrastructure |
Implement the Annual 2026/27 Business Plan for the Joint Venture Limited Liability Partnership which outlines the key milestones | Commercial Assets and Projects |
Complete the sale of Claire House and James House with the Council’s development partner and continue to progress the design of the Riverside scheme | Commercial Assets and Projects |
Following the pilot of Pippbrook House as a hub for culture and wellbeing, put forward a proposal for a sustainable future business model | Leisure and Community Assets |
Implement the redevelopment of the Foundry/Church Street site | Sustainable Economy |
Implement the Car Parking Action Plan 2026-27, including upgrading the car parking machines to accept contactless payment and exploring migration to the National Parking Platform to expand the range of mobile payment providers to visitors, workers and residents using our car parks. | Sustainable Economy |
Provide financial support to the Mole Valley Employment and Skills Hub so that it can continue to provide advice, guidance and coaching to local residents who are unemployed, facing redundancy or struggling to sustain paid employment | Sustainable Economy |
| 2026/27 Cabinet Performance Indicator | Target 2026/27 |
| Percentage of major planning application decisions overturned at appeal | Less than 10% |
| Housing Land Supply | 5 years |
Progressing Together
Working with our partners and the Mole Valley community, our mission is to transform our services to ensure that they are modern, valued, efficient, digital by choice and accessible by all.
- Review our ways of working to make us more efficient, effective, and to improve customer satisfaction
- Increase the online options available for our residents and businesses, so they have better choice in how, and when, to access our services
- Make sure our customer interactions are managed in a way that provides best value for money and faster, more efficient outcomes for our residents and businesses
- Train and develop our staff so we can continue to improve how we deliver our services, now and in the future
| 2026/27 Annual Plan Objective | Cabinet Portfolio |
Contribute to the successful implementation of the Structural Change Order for Surrey and ensure compliance with the Section 24 Direction once it comes into force | Leader, Governance and Organisation |
Continue to work with SCC and other agencies on the Neighbourhood Area Committee pilot, and subsequently with the shadow authority, to help shape the ongoing engagement with communities following implementation of the new unitary council | Leader, Governance and Organisation |
Implement the outcome of the Community Governance Review | Deputy Leader |
| 2026/27 Cabinet Performance Indicator | Target 2026/27 |
| Percentage of council tax collected | 99% |
| Percentage of business rates collected | 98.5% |
| Percentage of commercial rent due on a monthly basis collected within 21 days of due date | 90% |
| Percentage of commercial rent due on a quarterly basis collected within 21 days of due date | 90% |
| Customer satisfaction with Leatherhead Leisure Centre | 80% |
| Customer satisfaction with Dorking Sports Centre | 80% |
| Customer satisfaction level for Dorking Halls events | 85% |
| Average call wait time when contacting the Customer Services Unit | 180 seconds |
| Percentage of enquiries resolved at the first point of contact by the Customer Services Unit | 65% |
| Number of e-forms used to access Council services | Higher than previous year |
| Number of customers signed up to ‘My Account’ (self-service portal) | Higher than previous year |
